• PhD, University of California, Berkeley. Department of Integrative Biology, Spring 2003.
  • Dissertation title:  Benthic foraminifera in San Francisco Bay: environment, ecology, and paleoecology.
• BS, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Marine Fisheries Biology. Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, 1994. Outstanding Senior in Fisheries Award, 1994.

• Co-PI, (Macalester College, lead institution, John Kim lead PI), Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, 2021-2024, Mississippi River Watershed: An Immersive Humanities Curriculum
• Lead Principal Investigator. National Science Foundation, Advancing Informal Science Learning Program. 2020-2023. Studying Scientist-Educator-Artist Collaborations and Participatory Community Learning around Environmental Change and Adaptation.
• Co-PI: Collaboration with New Orleans community-based organization 7th Ward Healthy Community Services and University of Michigan: Measuring and Monitoring the Effects of Greening on the Urban Heat Island Effect, Water Uptake, and Social Challenges. 2017-present.
• Co-Principal Investigator. National Science Foundation, Improvements in Facilities, Communications, and Equipment at Biological Field Stations and Marine Laboratories (FSML) Program, Planning grant. 2018–2019. Planning for the ByWater Biological Field Station at Carmichael Forest.
• Sole Principle Investigator. Louisiana Board of Regents, Awards to Louisiana Artists and Scholars (ATLAS) Subprogram, June 2018 – June 2019. Oral Histories of Scientists at the Boundary: Interdisciplinarity, Public Engagement, and Transformation.
• Co-Principle Investigator. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Gulf Research Program, Co-PI, May 2017 – May 2019: Supporting the Isle de Jean Charles community resettlement through cross-boundary networks and knowledge synthesis.
• Tulane subaward Principle Investigator. Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, October 2016 – present. Consortium for Resilient Gulf Communities. Lead PI: RAND Corporation with co-PI’s from LSU, University of Southern Alabama, Louisiana Public Health Initiative.
• Sole Principle Investigator. National Science Foundation, Science, Technology and Society Program, August 2013 – August 2017: Scholars Award: Science in Transformation: Shifting Disciplinary Boundaries and Community-Engaged Scientists.
• Senior personnel. National Science Foundation: August 2013 – February 2018: Diversity and Disease in a Post-Trauma Human Landscape. Coupled Natural and Human Systems Program, Lead PI: Michael Blum, Tulane University.
• Co-Principle Investigator. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, 2009 – 2012. Adapting to Future Hurricane Risk Under Climate Change Uncertainty: Developing and Implementing Robust Strategies for a More Resilient New Orleans. Lead PI: David Groves and Jordan Fischbach, Rand Corporation with co-PI’s from UNO, Tulane University.
• Sole Principle Investigator. National Science Foundation, Science, Technology, and Society Program, 2009 – 2010. Science, Policy, and the Community: A Symposium in Post-Katrina New Orleans, $25,000. Organized symposium on academic civic engagement, with thirty participants from academic institutions from across the U.S. and in the Caribbean.
• Sole Principle Investigator. Louisiana Board of Regents, 2009 – 2010. A Course Module on Southeastern Louisiana Ecosystems: Enhancing Ecology Education in Louisiana For Underrepresented Minority Undergraduate Students. Award No. 018UG-09.
• Senior Personnel. Marguerite Casey Foundation, 2009 – 2012. Developing the Dillard University Center for the Environment and Public Policy. Co-coordinator of project, worked on developing an environmental science initiative.

Toolkits and Reports

• Preserving Our Place: A Community Field Guide to Engagement, Resilience, and Resettlement: Community regeneration in the face of environmental and developmental pressures. 2019. Authors: Tribal Chief Albert Naquin, Tribal Secretary Chantel Comardelle, Alessandra Jerolleman, Amy E. Lesen, Kristina Peterson, Joseph Evans, Erin Tooher, Jeffrey Mansfield, Nathaniel Corum, Nathan Jessee, Joseph Kunkel, Sierra Bainbridge, Amie Shao, Mayrah Udvardi, Tribal Deputy Chief Wenceslaus “Boyo” Billiot Jr., Tribal Councilman Tommy Dardar, Tribal Advisor Démé “J.R.” Naquin. © 2019, Isle de Jean Charles Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Tribe. Available at: https://tinyurl.com/y5y4ccp9

Books and Book Chapters (Peer Reviewed)

• Lesen AE. Book under contract with Palgrave Macmillan. Environmental Expertise in Action – Discussions with Publicly Engaged Scientists.  
• Lesen AE, (ed). 2015. Scientists, Experts, and Civic Engagement: Walking a Fine Line. Routledge, London and New York.  ISBN 978-1- 4724-1524-0.
• Lesen, AE. 2015. A New Paradigm for Science Communication? Social Media, Twitter, Science, and Public Engagement: A Literature Review. In Lesen, AE. Scientists, Experts, and Civic Engagement: Walking a Fine Line. Routledge, London, and New York.  ISBN 978-1- 4724-1524-0, 111-136.
• Naquin, Albert P, Lesen, AE, and Kristina J. Peterson. 2015. “We Can’t Give Up:” A Conversation About Community Engagement. In Lesen, AE. Scientists, Experts, and Civic Engagement: Walking a Fine Line. Routledge, London and New York.  ISBN 978-1- 4724-1524-0, 101-110.
• Lesen AE. (In press.) “Bayou Bienvenue” and “Pumping Stations” In: Thomas L & Steeby E (eds), A People’s Guide to New Orleans. University of California Press.

Journal Articles (Peer Reviewed)

• O’Donnell KL, Bernhardt ES, Yang X, Emanuel RE, Ardón M, Lerdau MT, Manda AK, Braswell AE, BenDor TK, Edwards EC, Frankenberg E, Helton AM, Kominoski JS, Lesen AE, Naylor L, Noe G, Tully KL, White E & Wright JP. 2024. Saltwater Intrusion and Sea Level Rise threatens U.S. rural coastal landscapes and communities. Anthropocene, 100427, ISSN 2213-3054, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2024.100427.
• Saltzman Leia Y., Lesen Amy E., Henry Veronica, Cross Hansel Tonya, Bordnick Patrick. 2021. COVID-19 Mental Health Disparities. Health Security Journal special issue: Systemic Racism and Health Security. Volume 19 (S1): https://doi.org/10.1089/hs.2021.0017.
• Lightfoot, E. S., Lesen, A. E., & Ferreira, R. J. 2020. Gender and resilience in Gulf Coast communities: Risk and protective factors following a technological disaster. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. Volume 50, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101716.
• Liddell JL, Saltzman LY, Ferreira RJ, Lesen AE. 2020. Cumulative Disaster Exposure, Gender and the PADM. Progress in Disaster Science, 5, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pdisas.2019.100042
• Lesen, AE, Tucker C, Olson, MG, Ferreira RJ. 2019. ‘Come Back At Us:’ Reflections on Researcher-Community Partnerships During a Post-Oil Spill Gulf Coast Resilience Study. Social Sciences 2019, 8, 8; doi:10.3390/socsci8010008.
• Melissa L. Finucane, Michael J. Blum, Rajeev Ramchand, Andrew M. Parker, Shanthi Nataraj, Noreen Clancy, Gary Cecchine, Anita Chandra, Tim Slack, George Hobor, Regardt J. Ferreira, Ky Luu, Amy E. Lesen & Craig A. Bond. 2019. Advancing community resilience research and practice: moving from “me” to “we” to “3D”. Journal of Risk Research, DOI: 10.1080/13669877.2
• Rael R, Peterson AC, Ghersi-Chavez B, Riegel C, Lesen AE, Blum MJ. 2018. The distribution and prevalence of rat lungworm (Angiostrongylus cantonensis) infection in rodents across post-Katrina New Orleans. Emerging Infectious Diseases. https://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2412.180056
• Patel, M.M., Saltzman, L.Y., Ferreira, R.J., Lesen, A.E. 2018. Resilience: Examining the Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on the Gulf Coast Vietnamese American Community. Social Sciences 7, 203. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci7100203
• Lesen AE, Rogan A, Blum MJ. 2016. Science Communication Through Art: Objectives, Challenges, and Outcomes. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 31(9): 657-660, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2016.06.004.
• Gulachenski A, Ghersi B, Lesen AE, Blum MJ. 2016. Abandonment, Ecological Assembly and Public Health Risks in CounterUrbanizing Cities. Sustainability. 8(5), 491; doi:10.3390/su8050491.
• Lesen AE. 2012. Oil, Floods, and Fish: The Social Role of Environmental Scientists. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. 2(3):  263-270.
• Lesen AE, Lipps JH. 2011. What Have Natural and Human Changes Wrought on the Meiofauna (Foraminifera) of San Francisco Bay Late Quaternary Estuaries? Quaternary Research 76(2).
• Lesen AE, Juhl AR and Anderson OR. 2010. Abundance and biomass of heterotrophic microplankton in the lower Hudson River Estuary, USA: Potential importance of naked, planktonic amebas for bactivory and carbon flux. Aquatic Microbial Ecology. 61(1): 45-56.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA Op-Ed

• Lesen, AE. New Orleans Advocate. Guest column: Coronavirus will exacerbate existing health inequities. March 25, 2020.

Selected Media Appearances

• Interview on CBS Evening News with Janet Shamlian: Coronavirus hits poor and minority communities hard in the South. April 7, 2020.

•  International Leadership Association annual meeting. November 2024. Community-based Participatory Theater and Collaboration for Climate Leadership and Healing. A. Lesen, A. Rogan, S. Honwad, C. Mackie.
• Ecological Society of America conference, August 2018. Supporting the Isle de Jean Charles Community resettlement through cross-boundary networks and knowledge synthesis. Amy E. Lesen, Chantel Comardelle, Alessandra Jerolleman, Kristina Peterson, Joseph Evans, Joseph Kunkel, Sierra Bainbridge, Amie Shao, Nathaniel Corum, Albert P. Naquin, Erin Tooher, Jeffrey Mansfield and Taylor Sinclair.
• Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference, February 2019. (Oral presentation) Who is a Community? Questioning Community Framing in the Gulf Coast. A. Melendez Salgado, Lesen, R. Ferreira.
• Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference, February 2019. (Oral presentation) Cumulative Disaster Exposure, Gender, and the PADM. J. L. Liddell, L. Y. Saltzman, R. J. Ferreira, E. Lesen.
• Society for Social Work and Research, January 2019. (Oral presentation) Reflective Scholarship: Evaluation of University Community Partnerships during a Post-Deepwater Horizon Resilience Study in Louisiana and Alabama. C. Tucker, E. Lesen.
• Society for Social Work and Research, January 2019. (Oral presentation) Predictors of Individual Resilience a Case Study of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. L. Saltzman, R. Ferreira, A Lesen.
• Society for Social Work and Research, January 2019. (Poster). Gender Differences in Exposure and Preparedness in PostDisaster Settings. Liddell, J. L., Ferreira, R. J., Lesen, A. E., Saltzman, L. Y., Patel, M.M., Melendez-Salgado, A.O., & Lopez, E. A.
• Society for Social Work and Research, January 2019. (Poster). Resilience Among Vietnamese and Non-Vietnamese Individuals Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Patel, M. M., Saltzman, L. Y., Ferreira, R. J., Lesen, A. E., MelendezSalgado, A.O., & Liddell, J. L.
• Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference, February 2018, New Orleans, LA. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill – Predictors of Individual Resilience. Co-authors: R. F. Ferreira, Lesen, J. Liddell, M. Patel, E. Lopez. Citizen Science Association, St. Paul, MN, May 2017, Science in Transformation: Stories of Interdisciplinarity and Public Engagement.
• Invited talk: Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, March 2017, Urban socio-ecology, interdisciplinarity, and community engagement. EcoSummit 2016, August 2016, Montpelier, France. Presentation: Diversity and disease in a post-trauma urban landscape.
• Invited talk: Louisiana State University Libraries, September 2015. Urban Ecology, Interdisciplinarity, and CommunityEngaged Science: Towards More Citizen-Driven Environmental Policy?
• Association of American Geographers, April 2015, Chicago. Presentation: Urban Ecology and Science in Transformation: Shifting Disciplinary Boundaries and Community-Engaged Scientists.
• Association of American Geographers, February 2012, New York City. Presentation: Adapting to Future Hurricane Risk Under Climate Change Uncertainty: Developing and Implementing Robust Strategies for a More Resilient New Orleans.
• Association of American Geographers, April 2011, Seattle, WA. Presentation: The Environment, Culture, Risk, and the Future of Coastal Communities: The Louisiana Example.
• Invited panelist, panel to discuss the Deepwater Horizon BP oil disaster, Multispecies Salon 3: SWARM, art exhibition and interdisciplinary anthropology event, New Orleans November 2011.
• Invited talk: UC Santa Cruz, Urban Studies Department, October 2010. Climate Change and the Future of Coastal Communities:  The Louisiana Example.
• Organization of American Historians Meeting, March 2009, Seattle, WA; Interdisciplinary panel of scientists and historians, presentation on “New Orleans, an Exceptional City?”
• Coastal Cities Summit, Nov 2008; St. Petersburg, FL; panel discussion on Climate Change, History, and Architecture in New Orleans and Louisiana.
• Invited panelist, panel discussion on art, science, and climate change, New Orleans Botanical Garden, with Robert Tannen, Ron Bechet, and John Barnes, spring 2008.
• American Studies Association Annual Meeting 2007; Philadelphia, October 2007. Scientists versus the local community: A case study in pre- and post-Katrina New Orleans, as part of panel, “New Orleans, USA?: Racism, Science, Hurricane Katrina and the Abandonment of a Global City.”
• Invited panelist, Pratt Institute, NYC, January 2007, “Is New Orleans a Shrinking City?”

SELECTED PROFESSIONAL, SCHOLARLY, AND CREATIVE ACTIVITIES

• Collaborator and seminar coordinator, Mississippi: An Anthropocene River project in partnership with German and U.S. universities and organizations. 2018-2019.
• Committee Member, United States Virgin Islands Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee, 2018.
• Invited advisory board member for book project, A People’s Guide to New Orleans, invited by editor Lynnell Thomas, September 2015 – present.
• Invited peer reviewer, National Science Foundation: Science Technology and Society Program 2009, 2013, 2017; Directorate for Education and Human Resources 2014.
• Organized and hosted academic symposium with over 30 participants from the U.S. and abroad, Walking a Fine Line: Scientists, Experts, and Civic Engagement, Dillard University, November 2010.
• With artist and Xavier University art faculty member Ron Bechet, environmentally-based painting exhibit and installation, Ron Bechet: Natural, Amy Lesen Collaborator, Dillard University Art Gallery, January 21-February 26, 2010.
• Invited facilitator and member, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice Public Policy Task Force, New Orleans, 2009.
• Invited guest on closing night panel discussion for exhibit at Ogden Museum of Southern Art: Robert Tannen Stardust: Objects, Ideas and Proposals, invited by the artist, September 2008.

• Fellow, Louisiana Board of Regents Awards to Louisiana Artists and Scholars (ATLAS) Subprogram, 2018-2019.
• Hilton Endowed Chair in Biology, Dillard University, 2010 – 2014.
• Advisor of the Year Award, Dillard University, Louisiana Alliance for Minority Participation program, 2012.
• Mentor of the Year Award, Dillard University, Louisiana Alliance for Minority Participation program, 2010.
• Presidential Mini-Grant, Dillard University, 2008, 2009.
• Faculty Development Award, Pratt Institute, 2006
• Mellon Foundation Faculty Research Grant, Pratt Institute, 2004-2005; 2005-2006.
• Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (declined), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2003
• Peabody Fellowship for Invertebrate Paleobiology, UC Museum of Paleontology, Spring 2003
• Dorothy Palmer Memorial Prize, UC Museum of Paleontology, 2001
• Graduate Student Research Grant, Geological Society of America, 1999 and 2001
• Graduate Student Research Grant, Cushman Society for Foraminiferal Research, 2000
• Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, U.C. Berkeley, 1999

Member:  Ecological Society of America, Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Citizen Science Association, Association of American Geographers, Society for Social Studies of Science

Previous faculty positions:

Antioch University, Graduate School of Leadership and Change

• Professor of Environmental Leadership and Participatory Change, January 2023-present
• Liaison to Environmental Studies Program

Dillard University, Department of Biology, New Orleans, LA

• Research Faculty, Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center, January 2020 – present
• Associate Professor with tenure, 2012 – August 2014, January 2020 – December 2022
• Assistant Professor, 2007 – 2012
• Hilton Endowed Chair in Biology, 2010 – August 2014
• Biology Department Chair, 2010 – 2012
• Biology Department Co-Chair, 2009 – 2010

Tulane University, New Orleans, LA

• Tulane School of Social Work, Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy, teaching faculty, 2017-present
• Tulane ByWater Institute, Research Associate Professor, September 2014 – 2020 full-time; 2020 – present affiliated.
• Tulane Environmental Studies Program affiliated faculty member, 2014 – 2020.

Pratt Institute, Biology, Department of Math and Science, Brooklyn, NY

• Assistant Professor, 2003 – 2007
• Member, Critical and Visual Studies program core faculty

Selected professional activities:

• Collaborator and seminar coordinator, Mississippi: An Anthropocene River project in partnership with German and U.S. universities and organizations. 2018-2019.
• Committee Member, United Stated Virgin Islands Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee, 2018.
• Invited advisory board member for book project, A People’s Guide to New Orleans, invited by editor Lynnell Thomas, September 2015 – present.
• Invited peer reviewer, National Science Foundation: Science Technology and Society Program 2009, 2013, 2017; Directorate for Education and Human Resources 2014.
• Organized and hosted academic symposium with over 30 participants from the U.S. and abroad, Walking a Fine Line: Scientists, Experts, and Civic Engagement, Dillard University, November 2010. 
• With artist and Xavier University art faculty member Ron Bechet, environmentally-based painting exhibit and installation, Ron Bechet: Natural, Amy Lesen Collaborator, Dillard University Art Gallery, January 21-February 26, 2010.
• Invited facilitator and member, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice Public Policy Task Force, New Orleans, 2009.
• Invited guest on closing night panel discussion for exhibit at Ogden Museum of Southern Art: Robert Tannen Stardust: Objects, Ideas, and Proposals, invited by the artist, September 2008.

Antioch University Program in Leadership and Change

• Change Project – Learning Achievement for PhD students, a project in researching and leading change at an organization for PhD students in their first three years before advancing to candidacy, co-leading with Dr. Ken Williams.
• Pro Sem III – leading weekly seminar for third-year PhD students.
• Power, Politics, and Purpose in Research – workshop for first-year PhD students.
• Environmental Justice, Research Justice, and Participatory Methods – workshop for first-year PhD students.
• Listening as Leading – workshop for first-year PhD students, co-led with Dr. Harriet Schwartz.
• Change Management and Action Research — workshop for first-year PhD students, co-led with Dr. Mitchell Kusy.
• Exploring Arts-Based Research Methods for Leadership Inquiry- a workshop for third-year PhD students co-led by Dr. Fayth Parks.